Historical Facts

Williamsburg County was not surveyed or properly laid out at this time. Its boundaries were ambiguous. Its county government never became functional. Most records were kept at the parish level, or at the Georgetown District level; none were kept at the county level. There was no county seat. There were no political connotations to the county's existence. In this case the term "county" had no meaning other than to describe an approximate geographical area. It was a county in name only.[2]

Parent County

1785-1798--Williamsburg County was created in 1785 from part of Georgetown District. This original county was aboltished in 1798 after failing to function.1804-present--Williamsburg County was re-created with the same boundaries.County seat: Kingstree [5]

1810, 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 federal population schedules of Williamsburg County are available online. For tips on accessing census records online, see South Carolina Census. If you're having trouble finding your ancestors in online indexes, try checking printed indexes. Created by local experts familiar with the area's families, these indexes are often transcribed more accurately than online nationwide indexes.

1840 Revolutionary War Pensioners

A Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Services: With their Names, Ages, and Places of Residence, as Returned by the Marshalls of the Several Judicial Districts, Under the Act for Taking the Sixth Census. Washington, D.C.: Blair and Rives, 1841. FHL Collection 973 X2pc 1840; FHL Collection 2321; digital version at Google Books. [See South Carolina, Williamsburg District on page 142.]

Church

Episcopal Church

Wallace, James A.. History of Williamsburg Church: A Discourse Delivered on Occasion of the 120th Anniversary of the Organization of the Williamsburg Church, July 4th, 1856, Kingstree, S.C.: With Notes and an Appendix. Salisbury, N.C.: Bell & James, Printers, 1856. Digital versions at Ancestry ($) and Google Books.

Court

Williamsburg County has court records from 1806 that are held in the office of the Clerk of Court. Williamsburg County was formed from the territory of the non-functioning Williamsburg County within the Georgetown District. From 1800 - 1804 Williamsburg County was briefly a part of Georgetown County The records of the Georgetown District court as well as Georgetown County are housed with the Georgetown County Clerk of Court.

[Lee] Brown, Gerald D. A Genealogy of a Lee Family: Ancestry and Descendants of David Lee, Sr.: Mainly of Old Williamsburg District - Present Day Florence County, South Carolina. Hemingway, S.C.: Three Rivers Historical Society, 1995. FHL 929.273 L51br

[Plowden] Plowden, Robert W. Record of Edward Plowden 1st Who Came to Williamsburg County, South Carolina in 1732 and His Descendants. Florence, Ala.: Plowden Clan of America, 1964. FHL 1027881 Item 13

Land

Because of South Carolina’s history as an agricultural state many residents owned land. For more information about types of land records see South Carolina Land and Property. Tracing records through South Carolina county and district changes can be difficult. In general, for earliest records begin by searching the Charleston District, then your ancestor’s residential district, then neighboring districts, then the residential county, then neighboring counties. Not all districts and counties kept records. The following chart show where you may best expect to find land records for Williamsburg County:

Tracing Land Currently in Williamsburg County with Parent Counties and Districts[9]

Date

Government Office

1868-Present

Williamsburg County

1804-1865

Williamsburg District

1769-1804

Georgetown District Records Lost

1719-1769

Charleston District

1710-1719

Proprietary Land Grants

Plats For State Land Grants 1784-1868

This series consists of recorded copies of plats for state land grants for the Charleston and the Columbia Series with their certificates of admeasurement or certification. All personal names and geographic features on these plats are included in the repository's On-line Index to Plats for State Land Grants

The South Carolina Constitution of 1790 required the surveyor general to maintain offices in both the new capital at Columbia and in Charleston. The surveyor general began to use separate volumes for recording plats in his Columbia office in 1796. Before that, all plats were recorded in the set of volumes begun in Charleston in 1784. After 1796, most plats for land grants in the Upper Division of the state were recorded and filed in Columbia. The surveyor general chose to make the Columbia volumes a continuation of the state plat volumes begun in Charleston and gave the initial Columbia volume the number thirty-six to correspond with the number of the volume that had then been reached in the Charleston series. As a result, there are volumes numbered thirty-six through forty-three from each office, but the records in them are not duplicative.

Also included are the Plan Books containing Plats and Plans.

Local Histories

Boddie, William Willis. History of Williamsburg: Something about the People of Williamsburg County, South Carolina, from the First Settlement by Europeans about 1705 until 1923. Columbia, S.C.: State Co., 1923. Digital version at Ancestry ($).

Boddie, William Willis. History of Williamsburg. Columbia, SC, USA: The State Company, 1923. Digital version at Ancestry ($).

Maps

Military

War of 1812

List of Pensioners on the Roll, January 1, 1883; Giving the Name of Each Pensioner, the Cause for Why Pensioned, the Post-Office Address, the Rate of Pension Per Month, and the Date of Original Allowance... Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1883. FHL Collection 973 M2Lp v. 5; digital versions at Google Books and Internet Archive. [See Vol. 5, South Carolina, Williamsburgh County [sic], p. 189. Identifies War of 1812 veterans living in this county in 1883.]

Civil War (1861 to 1865)

Civil War service men from Williamsburg County served in various regiments. Men often joined a regiment or a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are companies that were formed in Williamsburg County or from many of its men.

Smith, Danny H. The Call to Arms. (S.l. : s.n., 19--), 225 pages. "This information came from many sources including basic information from Boddie's "History of Williamsburg", Confederate pension records, from cemetery records...from newspapers, old church records and from searching cemeteries..." Book found at FHL 975.783 M2s.

Three Rivers Historical Society. Williamsburg County record of Confederate pensioners, 1905-1911. ( [Hemingway, SC] (414 N. Main St., Hemingway 29554) : Three Rivers Historical Society, 2000). 49 pages. Photocopies of original records. Book found at FHL 975.783 M2w and Other Libraries.

Newspapers

Historic

The Library of Congress has identified the following historic newspapers for Williamsburg County, South Carolina on their Chronicling America website. For publication details, including dates of publication, frequency, preceding and succeeding titles, and to find out which libraries have holdings, click on the newspaper title.

Periodicals

Tap into the minds of local experts. Editors of genealogical periodicals publish unique sources that researchers new to their area may not encounter. Periodicals at various levels (county, region, and state) may carry articles useful to research in this area. For this county, see:

Three Rivers Chronicle

Probate

Probate is the “court procedure by which a will is proved to be valid or invalid” and encompasses “all matters and proceedings pertaining to the administration of estates, guardianships, etc.”[10] Various types of records are created throughout the probate process. These may include, wills, bonds, petitions, accounts, inventories, administrations, orders, decrees, and distributions. For further information see probate records in South Carolina.

The South Carolina Department of Archives and History has microfilms or typescripts of wills, inventories, bills of sale, power of attorneys, bonds, notes, administrations, judgments, and sales records. They have placed Will Transcriptions for 1782 to 1855 online. Index searchable by name and the image is available. Estate records for Wiliamsburg County, 1800-1869, are available on microfilm, with an index that covers 1806-1882.

Probate records for Williamsburg County are found in the court of ordinary, the probate court, and the court of equity. Estate records for the probate court, 1869-1916, are also available on microfilm through the Family History Library. FHL Film 2188958 Also see Williamsburg County, South Carolina wills, 1806-1879, from the Court of Ordinary for Williamsburg District. FHL Film 24522

Taxation

Tax-related records are kept by the offices of the county Assessor, Auditor, Sheriff, and Treasurer. Taxes were levied on real and personal property and can help establish ages, residences, relationships, and the year an individual died or left the area. They can be used as substitutes for missing or destroyed land and census records.

South Carolina Department of Archives and History tax lists for Williamsburg County.

Vital Records

Birth, marriage, and death records were not recorded by South Carolina until the 1900s, thus leaving a lack of vital records. Substitute records, when available, are used to obtain this information. These substitute records including newspapers, court records have been added to this section, when applicable.

Birth

State-wide birth registration began in 1915. For a copy of a birth from 1915 or later, contact the South Carolina Department of Health. The Williamsburg County Health Department also has copies but they provide only an abbreviated form with limited information. For more information, see the South Carolina Vital Records page.

Marriage

In South Carolina, marriage licenses were not required by local governments until 1 July 1911. However, in the 1700s, the Church of England parish churches were required to record all marriages - even if the couple were not members of the denomination. Not all churches recorded these marriages and some have not survived. See South Carolina Vital Records for more information.

There are several online marriage indexes containing miscellaneous marriage records found in some counties of South Carolina listed on the South Carolina Vital Records page.

Death

State-wide death registration began in 1915. For a copy of the death certificates from 1915 or later, contact the South Carolina Department of Health. The Williamsburg County Health Department only has copies for deaths occurring in the last 5 years. For more information, see the South Carolina Vital Records page.

Societies - Genealogical, Historical, Lineage

Family History Centers

Family History Centers provide one-on-one assistance and free access to premium genealogical websites. In addition, many centers have free how-to genealogy classes. See Family History Centers for more information. Search the online FHC directory for a nearby family history center.

↑List of Pensioners on the Roll, January 1, 1883; Giving the Name of Each Pensioner, the Cause for Why Pensioned, the Post-Office Address, the Rate of Pension Per Month, and the Date of Original Allowance... (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1883), 189. FHL Collection 973 M2Lp v. 5; digital versions at Google Books and Internet Archive.